Story by UNK Athletic Communications
The 33rd-ranked Missouri Western State Griffons won a video challenge with three minutes left and that led to junior Cody Watson hitting a walk-off 31-yard field goal to help the Griffons rally past Nebraska Kearney, 20-17, Saturday at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium. The Griffs (6-2) improve to 3-1 in games decided by a touchdown or less while the Lopers (2-6) fall to 1-3 in such contests. UNK still leads the all-time series, 20-13."That one hurts, there's no doubt about it," said UNK head coach Ryan Held. "We've really been fighting and sticking to our process of trying to get better and put ourselves in position to win. We did that today against a good team and we had our chances. At the end of the day thought, there's still those sequential paralyzing plays." Mo West trailed 17-7 heading into the fourth quarter but started their comeback after sixth-year senior quarterback Armani Edden scrambled for 19 yards on 3rd & 15 to start the final 15 minutes. Edden then ran for 14 yards on 3rd & 10 a few plays later and then found 6-5 junior receiver Jake Berrey from 14 yards out to make it a one score game. Unfortunately, UNK inadvertently downed the subsequent kickoff at their own five-yard line. The Griffs forced a punt, took over at the Loper 47-yard line with Watson tying things up from 34-yards out. Edden converted 3rd & 10 thanks to a 19-yard throw a few players earlier.
"Our kids played hard, and they fought. A lot of teams would've just folded but, again, we're right there," said Held. "At the end of the day, we didn't get it done. I feel for our guys. "On the next UNK drive, redshirt sophomore QB Sean Johnson Jr. (Orlando) had his number called on four straight runs. They gained 45 yards, but the drive stalled at the Griffon 31-yard line. A 12-yard punt gave Mo West the ball back with Edden throwing a 14-yard pass to receiver Traveon James on second down. The play was called a fumble on the field with corner Jerome Houston Jr. (Bellevue West) with the force and junior rover Jamere Jones (Clayton, N.C.) with the recovery. However, the play was overturned after a video review, and it was 1st & 10 Griffs at their own 34-yard line. "I punted the ball because I wanted them to have to drive 90 yards for a field goal. They didn't have a returner back. The (short) punt and (downed) kickoff are just two catastrophic plays," said Held. "They went in and looked at it (video review) and that would've been nice to have had that. "Edden completed two more passes, for 15 yards, ran 13 yards for a first down with redshirt freshman back Seth Cromwell running for 21 yards on 3rd & 1 from the Loper 35-yard line. His forward progress didn't stop and the whole Griff offense helped him matriculate the ball down the field. "At that moment (losing the review), you have to switch and get into the mode of we've got to stop them," said Held. "That's where we must continue to learn. That was a disappointment, but you must be able to let that go and play the next down. Because they still had to go down and kick a field goal. "Watson had a 30-yard field goal blocked by tackle Tell Spies (Mullen) at the end of the half and was wide on a 45-yard attempt in the first quarter, but his game-winner went through the uprights. He's now 10 of 15 on the season. QB TJ Davis (Colorado Springs) threw scoring passes of 36 and 48 yards to receivers Cole Brown (Dallas, Ga.) and Reggie Anderson (Gaithersburg, Md.) to make it 14-7 midway through the second quarter. UNK could've easily increased its lead as tackle Stephen Matina (Lansing, Kan.) forced a fumble at the Griffon five-yard line after a rough kick return for the Griffs. End Quillan Felton (LaGrange, Ga.) had the recovery, but three subsequent plays netted two yards and a 23-yard field goal was wide."Forty-six plays are not enough. I thought Sean did a really nice job. He came in and we were humming really, really good (at the end)," said Held. "That two QB system is a good threat for us."Mo West out gained UNK by a 379-268 margin thanks to running 25 more plays. Cromwell ran for an even 100 yards on 19 carries with Edden going 24 of 36 for 193 yards. James and junior receiver Tayler Carey both caught six passes for a combined 87 yards. Defensively, ends Dakari Streeter (3.0 TFL) and CJ Ravenell (five tackles) and linebacker Anthony Villanueva (six tackles) led the way. For UNK, Johnson Jr. tallied 89 yards on 10 carries with back Kevin Brown (East St. Louis) coming off the IL to run for 20 yards on six totes. Next, Davis was 7 of 9 for 113 yards with junior receiver AJ McPhee (Belle Glade, Fla.) having two catches for 29 yards. Felton (eight tackles, two TFL's) led the Loper D with corner Armani Webster (Chicago) and safety Tre O'Guinn (Peoria, Ariz.) having seven stops apiece. UNK heads to Emporia State next Saturday. The No. 24 Hornets (5-3) lost at No. 16 Central Missouri today, 77-27.